In evolutionary biology and in the health sciences, the significance of intralocus sexual conflict, which examines the reasons why males and females have different traits such as height, has widespread recognition. “This research will help us understand the differences in sex dimorphism in regard to broad factors such as aging and disease risk,” explains Dr. Graze.

In the Graze Lab, research focuses on further understanding sexual differences in gene regulation. “My research takes advantage of three key features of the Drosophila model system to understand the role of hormone signaling in intralocus sexual conflict and the genetical control of sexual dimorphism: First, fruit flies are a premiere laboratory model organism in genetics and evolution. Second, D. melanogaster is one of the best-studied organisms from the perspective of sexual conflict; both forms of conflict, intra- and interlocus, are known to have strong influences on fitness in this system. Third, the ease of maintenance and experimentation, rapid generation time, and scalability of the system make it excellent for the educational goals of the CAREER Award,” shares Dr. Graze.

Through these educational goals of the award, gifted students from underrepresented areas of Alabama and Georgia will have a chance to attend Dr. Graze’s outreach program to benefits from a more in-depth research experience at the 2019 Summer Science Institute. Furthermore, undergraduate students in COSAM at Auburn University will learn about Dr. Graze’s work through course-based research experiences.

Dr. Rita Graze (second from right) and her students in the Graze Lab.

Dr. Graze explaining steps of an experiment to her students.

Students from the Summer Science Institute taking video of fruit fly behavior to analyze with their cell phones. The flies are in the plastic vials with the blue closures.

Mursalin Khan, a PhD student, conducts an experiment in the Graze Lab.